Gloson - Grimen

By Calen Henry. Gloson take their name from a an undead pig monster in Scandinavian mythology (pictured on the cover of Yearwalker, Gloson's EP). The Gloson would lurk in graveyards and charge between the legs of unwary travelers, slicing them up with the row of spikes on it's back. It would also knock over travelers by

By Calen Henry.

Artwork by Ogino Design.

Gloson take their name from a an undead pig monster in Scandinavian mythology (pictured on the cover of Yearwalker, Gloson's EP). The Gloson would lurk in graveyards and charge between the legs of unwary travelers, slicing them up with the row of spikes on its back. It would also knock over travelers by shaking the ground with stomps from its powerful hooves. Totally metal and totally fitting for Gloson's sound.

Grimen is Gloson's debut full length album. It expands their refreshingly straightforward take on post-metal injected with crushing doom metal. Each song gradually builds to a crescendo with few bells and whistles. Though undeniably indebted to post-metal pioneers Gloson's core sound takes much of their core sonic palette from doom/sludge.

Instead of using post-metal as a jumping off point, like they did on Yearwalker, on Grimen they dig deep into the doom side keeping things refreshingly simple and crushing. The guitars are lower, the vocals are deeper, and the atmosphere is almost always sinister and foreboding. Even through the slower passages the atmosphere doesn't let up. There are no soaring dreamy passages, everything is on message; crushing and sinister. The album opener, "Prowler", sets the tone. After about two seconds of ambiance and a single drum beat count-in the a massive riff drops and doesn't let up.

Post-metal can sometimes meander and seemingly go nowhere as it crawls towards the inevitable payoff, but Gloson have none of that. Except for closing the album with some full on but excellent Isis worship, almost every track starts the post-metal build with a killer doom groove. And these riffs are magic. The pace is slow and foreboding but the riffs and passages are full of little embellishments that demand attention. It's a slow headbang almost all the way through the album, but never a stupor. The band's total mastery of groove complements their no frills approach. The rhythmic foundation is so solid that it effortlessly guides the songs through their huge riffs into brushes with melodic leads, didgeridoo, church bells, Mellotron (I think), and some strings.

While it may not convert the doom and/or post-metal averse fans of either of those genres would be remiss not to check out Grimen. There is little out there with "post" in the genre that's as refreshingly straightforward while still being totally engrossing.

Metal Bands-you-might-have-missed-camp 2014

By Calen Henry. Here is a list of a few albums I really liked from 2014 that I either didn't see at all on year end lists, or that I thought were underrepresented on them. Vukari play what is best described as "atmospheric black metal" featuring long, slowly building passages

By Calen Henry.

Here is a list of a few albums I really liked from 2014 that I either didn't see at all on year end lists, or that I thought were underrepresented on them.

Artwork by Mike DeStefano from Vukari

Vukari play what is best described as "atmospheric black metal" featuring long, slowly building passages, culminating in blistering black metal explosions, but they frequently employ post-rock chords rather than the typical black metal voicings, so the result sounds like Mono covering Agalloch. It's great. The approach makes for a record that sounds familiar and cohesive, but also novel. The post-rock leanings, and the black metal fury both shine through without completely mixing.

The mixing for the album is what really brings it ahead of a band like Deafheaven, for execution. All the different part sounds right in the mix. The instruments and vocals are present without anything being overpowered, and the band has gone for clarity, over raw, lo-fi black metal, which suits the style perfectly. Absolutely my favourite band in the style.

Artwork by Ogino Design

Gloson's mix of metal and post-rock is eerily similar to Vukari's but with doom rather than black metal. They mix crushing doom sections with more ambient, clear guitar driven sections. Like Vukari, they often employ post rock chords, but know how to keep the doom, and worship the riff, while experimenting. It always comes back to monolithic riffs, first and foremost with the post rock experimentation adding to the downtuned assault, rather than taking over.

It's also worth noting that the EP is generally either free, or hovering around $1. It's absolutely unmissable at that price. Bonus: the album art is fantastic.

Artwork by Metastazis

Black Anvil come from the NYC black metal scene but, unlike some of their city-mates, play blackened thrash with a progressive edge, and the addition of all-the-things, including, but not limited to:

• wah drenched leads
• shredding leads
• tapping leads
• gang vocals
• clean as well as rasped vocals
• a gunshot
• shouted “1-2-3-4” before one of the aforementioned styles of lead

It’s so good, but a lot of publications seemed to write it off as “almost there” or “good, but overlong”. Personally, I didn't even notice it was long until I read it. It’s so great that I’m happy to have every minute of it.